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24.12.2014 Press Release

ASM-Africa Network Communiqué On Government’s Effort At Streamlining The Small Scale Mining Sector

By Artisanal And Small Scale Mining Africa-Network (ASMAN)
ASM-Africa Network Communiqu On Governments Effort At Streamlining The  Small Scale Mining Sector
24.12.2014 LISTEN

Preamble: Following the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on 'Streamlining the Small Scale Mining Sector' organized by the ASM-Africa Network (ASMAN) on the theme “Boosting Artisanal & Small Scale Mining in Ghana with support funding from the Third World Network-Africa and Solidaridad West Africa, Accra.

The Forum, bringing together more than one hundred participants, includes Government and Non-Governmental Organizations, the Development Partners and Representatives from the Small Scale Mining value-chain industries like the Jewelers, Gold Buyers, Gold Refinery and Machine & Equipment Operators, as well as Civil Society Organizations & the Media.

Admittedly, Artisanal & Small Scale Mining (ASM) activities are being undertaken by community members and small and medium size companies scattered in different parts of the country. These activities are poorly coordinated with clearly lack of legal enforcement and regulatory framework. This has exposed the people involved in the activities to poor working conditions, while the country and communities have no mechanisms for benefiting from the extractive resources. Nonetheless, small scale miners contributed 34.4% of gold production and 100% of diamonds production in 2012 (courtesy Minerals Commission).

The Regulatory Agencies actively participated in the Forum, which includes the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission (MinCom), the Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation (PMMC), the Technical Director of the Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources (MLNR), as well as Directors from the Geological Survey Department (GSD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); were all available and contributed immensely in the discussions.

The product of the Forum participants is this Communiqué, which seeks to call on the Government of Ghana, to among other things:

1. Consider the ASM industry as a means to livelihood for the citizens and therefore offer state support to operators, as is the case with the Fisheries and the Crop Sector.

2. Put in place a deliberate policy to encourage and attract galamsey operators to formalize their activities. For example, Government can facilitate equipment purchases for formal operators at discounted rates or facilitate flexible financial packages and award schemes (as spearheaded by the Ghana Chamber of Mines) for legal operators as a means of encouraging the illegal ones to formalize their operations.

3. Engage all stakeholders in the ASM industry anytime there are issues of policy, legal or guideline reviews. This call comes in the wake of the recent passage of an amendment to the Minerals and Mining act, 2006 (act 703) under a certificate of urgency, which we are told is currently before Parliament without recouse to key major stakeholders and CSO's.

4. The Minerals Commission should present the 'road-map' and start an engagement process that will discuss proposals at streamlining the ASM Sector and adopt transitional strategies to develop Small Scale Mining into Medium Scale Mining, then Large Scale Operators. This should be done with respect to protecting the interest of the Local Content Involvement.

5. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should strengthen the Desk Offices for monitoring ASM operations & further present a customized 'Akoben' for ASM, as a way to effectively classify the Sector.

6. Government of Ghana should seek to ratify the signed Minamata Convention as on non-usage of mercury in ASM gold production, and subsequently start the process to the development of a country action plan for the way forward. The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM) collaboration with L.G. Bruce-Luckman on Alluvial Mining Solutions at Prestea to be monitored for the Establishment of Gold Recovery Facilities across the country.

7. The policy document on mining, which has been approved by Cabinet, should be made available to stakeholders as soon as practicable, and a consultative process initiated to discuss it in respect to the changing dynamics to reflect modern trends in the activities of ASM's.

8. Government should develop or enhance the effectiveness of existing ASM operational guidelines (if any) to stimulate best practices and success story, as is being advocated by Solidaridad West Africa in the Cocoa Sector, and now ASM Sector.

• ASMAN acknowledge and appreciate the support provided by the Third World Network-Africa and Solidaridad West Africa towards the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Development of ASM.

• On behalf of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum Participants in Accra this day, Tuesday, December 02, 2014 by Nii Adjetey-Kofi Mensah, Executive Director, ASM-Africa Network (ASMAN).

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